Mexico City | Reuters — Mexican tomato producers have reached a deal with the U.S. government to avoid an anti-dumping investigation, Mexican Economy Minister Graciela Marquez said on Wednesday, ending a testy tariff dispute that had rumbled on for months. Under the deal, the vast majority of Mexican tomato exports will be subject to border […] Read more
Mexico and U.S. reach deal to end tomato tariff spat
Ceres closes on option to buy Delmar Commodities
U.S. commodities firm Ceres Global Ag Corp. has exercised its option and closed its deal to buy Manitoba grain merchandising firm Delmar Commodities. Ceres announced Friday it has completed the deal to buy all of Delmar’s shares for about $15.25 million in cash and assume about $7.6 million in existing term debt. The Minneapolis firm […] Read more
Telus buys Farm At Hand
Vancouver farm management software development firm Farm At Hand has become an arm of one of the Big Five in Canada’s communication services sector. Farm At Hand, which makes the cloud-based Crop Planner software suite for farmers and the Farm At Hand Agronomy suite for agronomists, announced Tuesday it has been wholly acquired by Telus […] Read more
Prairie hail claims pass 10,000 for year
MarketsFarm — More than 10,000 claims for hail damage have been filed by Prairie farmers so far in 2019 with insurance companies belonging to the Canadian Crop Hail Association. Between July 27 and Aug. 6, hail on the Prairies saw farmers add 900 claims alone, according to a CCHA press release Friday. To date overall, […] Read more
Unusual growing season brings unusual pest pressures
Weather conditions have brought late weed flushes and repeat attacks on crops, says specialist
Reading Time: 2 minutes This year’s unusual weather is causing pests such as weeds, fungal diseases and insects to emerge at unexpected times, says a provincial crop specialist. A dry spring, a later arrival of rain, and a cooler-than-normal growing season all played a role, said Neil Whatley. “While some producers waited for rainfall prior to seeding, most planted […] Read more
Saskatchewan canary seed crops may not recover
MarketsFarm –– Canary seed crop yields may be hampered by dry early summer conditions, and rain that didn’t come quite soon enough. Saskatchewan’s west-central region, home to the lion’s share of the province’s canary seed crops, received very little rain during the spring and early summer. “That area was beyond recovery when the rain finally […] Read more
Prairies at risk of frosty harvest
MarketsFarm — Another dilemma is expected for the 2019 growing season: after a late start, western Canadian farmers could be challenged by an early end. Over the Aug. 10 weekend there were isolated reports of frost in some areas of the Peace region in northwestern Alberta. Other parts of the Prairies may be experiencing similar […] Read more
Subway to test-market plant-based ‘meatball’ subs
The world’s biggest fast food chain by number of outlets plans to test-market plant-based meat substitute at some of its Canadian and U.S. restaurants starting next month. Subway on Wednesday announced a “culinary innovation partnership” with Los Angeles-based processor Beyond Meat, beginning with a “Beyond Meatball Marinara” submarine sandwich to be tested at 685 Canadian […] Read more
British food lobby warns of food shortages from no-deal Brexit
London | Reuters — Britain will experience shortages of some fresh foods for weeks or even months if a disorderly no-deal Brexit leaves perishable produce rotting in lorries at ports, Britain’s food and drink lobby warned on Wednesday. Retailers such as Tesco have warned that leaving the European Union on Oct. 31 without a transition […] Read more
Bayer cancels plans to sell U.S. crop product in 2020 over safety concerns
Chicago | Reuters – Bayer AG has scrapped plans for wide sales next year of a chemical that is intended to protect U.S. crops from yield-robbing worms, citing ongoing safety concerns. The decision is the latest setback for Germany-based Bayer following its acquisition of Monsanto for $63 billion in 2018. Bayer is separately battling thousands of lawsuits claiming Monsanto’s glyphosate-based […] Read more
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